A mathematician by profession, he was the foremost chess champion of his day. In 1892 he won his first major tournament in London. In 1894 he defeated Wilhelm Steinitz for the championship which he defended against Frank Marshall, David Janowski, and others. He held the championship until 1921 when he was defeated by Capablanca with ten draws and four losses. Lasker wrote two classic books on chess: "Common Sense in Chess" (1896) and "Lasker's Manual of Chess."